Resistance: Fall of Earth
by Torino1992
Summary: Takes place after the Normandy leaves Anderson on Earth and follows the struggle of the survivors to hold out until Shepard can return. Not all is as it seems though as the Reapers slowly but surely over run the galaxy. New chapters coming soon.
1. Retreat

Resistance

Chapter 1: Retreat

_There will be no white flag above my home for_

_A day of freedom is worth a lifetime of slavery._

-Unknown (I can't remember)

Admiral Anderson watched as the Normandy accelerated off towards the horizon. The evac shuttles had been destroyed but had left a half dozen marines behind, as Anderson came up to them three old fashioned petrol powered trucks arrived on scene. These were heavy duty off road trucks designed to handle any terrain a man stepped out of the lead truck and shouted "Which one of you is Admiral Anderson?"

"That would be me, and just who the hell are you." Anderson replied the newcomers were heavily equipped with military grade weapons and light armor.

"My name is Jackson and I'm the man who's gonna save your sorry ass." The man wasn't overly impressive at just over six feet he was of average height a build nothing about him would stick in your memory he was just normal. "Shepard contacted me a while back and had me make a few preparations for when the Reaper's arrived. I don't have time to explain, we need to leave the city as fast as possible."  
"That was the plan but where are we going?" Anderson was more than willing to let him have the lead this man was clearly a local and knew how to get around the city.

As they moved towards the vehicles Jackson responded "The mountains sir just an hour outside the city." As soon as Anderson was in the passenger seat and the marines loaded in back they trucks took off headed towards the west.

"Sounds good but how did you know I would be here." Anderson wanted to know how this man knew where to find Shepard.

"I wasn't looking for you, Shepard had a tracking device I placed in him so if the Reapers attacked and he was unable to get off-world I could find him. I was able to track him until he got on the Normandy. That's when EDI informed me that you were remaining behind. Just a second." The man reached for the radio on the dashboard and asked "Veetor can you broadcast what I'm about to say on all frequencies?"

A Quarian accented voice replied "Of course, but it's only a matter of time until the Reapers manage to block the signal, you probably have a minute at best."

"Good start broadcasting know… Attention all forces in the Vancouver area! Fall Back! Get out of the city as fast as you can. Evacuate what civilians you can. Engage the enemy with guerilla tactics until you receive further orders. Independent action is authorized under condition SABER 1 per Admiral Hackett's orders."

As Jackson got towards the end of that sentence a tone similar to the one Anderson had heard earlier on the crashed gunship came on. "Well that's it no more radio broadcasts for a while."

The city was in shambles piles of rubble almost as tall as the trucks occasionally civilians could be seen running trying to find loved ones or get to safety. The trucks had no problem navigating over what rubble they came across their larger tires, long wheel base, and off road suspension easily compensated. However the going was slow at best they managed a decent running pace at worst a slow crawl but they were moving.

They continued moving through the city right under the reapers at some points Anderson asked "Why aren't the Reapers firing on us, we're an easy enough target?"

"They have bigger things to worry about, right now they have plenty of air targets to take out but that won't last long. SHIT!" The truck screeched to a stop as a horde of husks came into sight. The husks just ambled along until one of them noticed the trucks and let out an unnatural roar and then they all just attacked. "So much for getting out unnoticed."  
The marines in the back of the truck hopped out and started firing at the advancing husks. Limbs went flying and husks fell at an impossible pace but they were hardly making a dent, for every one they killed it seemed two more took its place. Noticing a nearby alley Anderson asks "What about there can we fit through there?"

"Don't have a choice at this point" Yelling out at the marines "Get on, were moving!" Jackson waits as the marines hop back into the truck and then turns the truck down the alley as the other two trucks follow suit. Taking off as fast as possible down the alley they soon come to another crossroad and find it mercifully empty of husks almost at the edge of the city now, nothing but open farmland1.

Seeing the edge of the city Anderson relaxes a bit thinking that they are in the clear as the trucks begin to accelerate on the open farmland. Then a reaper lands right in front of them, the ground shakes with the force of the landing and for the briefest of seconds it feels as if the truck is going to spin out.

The thing is massive but Jackson doesn't even hesitate he just steps on the gas and says into his mike "Hit it with the Cain!" In the truck directly behind them Anderson watches as one of Jackson's men charges a Cain it's a race now between the Cain and the Reaper beam and if they lose Anderson probably won't even know it. Anderson hears the unmistakable sound of the Cain launching its nuke he watches as just before the Reaper fires the nuke connects with one of its legs. The Reaper fires but it's off-balance and the beam fires wide and before the thing can charge another shot the trucks pass under it heading for the mountains that are just barely visible in the distance.

By the time the Reaper turns around the trucks are well out of range and it decides to make its way toward the city to begin the harvest after all there would be time later to gather the strays.

"Looks like were clear for now" Jackson states and allows the truck to slow the other two trucks pull alongside for now it's mostly a smooth ride as the trucks suspension easily absorbs the uneven farmland beneath the tires.

Anderson takes a closer look at the vehicles they are traveling in. Standard trucks for the most part, with little in the way of armor or armaments, but clearly customized to handle any situation. Thinking back on his knowledge of older model trucks he realizes it's an early 21st century, a rather old vehicle but clearly reliable as it had just saved all of their lives. "You mentioned earlier that Shepard set all of this up how is that possible, he's been under lockdown since he returned to earth."

"Who says I talked to him after he returned to earth? He sent me a message shortly after that fiasco with the alpha relay told me to trust him and to get prepared for a possible invasion. I told him okay and made my preparations, I owed him that much." Jackson had that same air about him as the Commander did. He followed his gut and his gut was rarely wrong.

"How much have you been able to accomplish?" Anderson asked his curiosity getting the better of him.

"I called up a few friends; ex-military, mercs, and even a few aliens to help me out. I got them everything they would need equipment wise and even manage to secure a Cain although we only have three shots left for it now. We're hold up in the Rocky Mountains because no one knows those mountains better than me and the caves underneath them are extensive and fortified from the Contact War. Hopefully they'll help us avoid the Reapers at least for a time, if they send a Sovereign class Reaper to attack us I doubt we will last long, the ground forces we can handle with ease in these mountains. I sent other groups into the cities to secure weapons and personnel no telling if they will be successful."

The trucks had to slow down even more now as they approached the foothills and the woods, pretty soon they would have to be on foot. "I give it two weeks maybe more before the Reapers start coming out of the cities probably less if we start harassing them like I plan."

The trucks finally came to a stop as the woods was too thick to allow them to pass a few of Jackson's men quickly covered them with military grade camouflage cover2. "Alright on your feet, the easy part is over, hopefully the other teams made it out with their targets as well. Let's move toward home and food."

The hike is brutal especially on Anderson's already worn and battered body. It takes them almost an hour to cross what Jackson considers a hill but to Anderson is more of a mountain. On the other side the wood are even thicker to the point that it's almost impossible to see the sun. As they approach the bottom of the valley an owl calls out to them Jackson replies with an extremely convincing crow. Then Anderson watches as four figures rise up out of the ground surrounding them on all sides, startled he reaches for his pistol only to realize the mounds are men with their guns pointed at the ground. "Got some nice reflexes there donchya pops?" one of the camouflaged men asks.

"Shut it Max, if you'd been in the city with us you would probably be on edge to." Jackson replies as Anderson stows his pistol. It's impossible for Anderson to tell anything about this Max as he is covered from head to toe in a ghillie suit and woods colored paint.

Max responds "Didn't mean no harm by it. It's a good thing to be dat quick wit ur guns."

"Anyone else come through before us?"

"None I know of but we cut de radio off to keep quiet ya know."

"Understood get back to watch now."  
The four men move off and merge back with the ground as they stop moving Anderson notices it becomes almost impossible to find them again. "If you want them to be invisible why not just give them cloaking devices?" Anderson asks this tactic is one he's only read about in old military textbooks.

"Because cloaks have two major drawbacks one they are expensive and two even when your cloaked your feet would still make impressions on the ground." Jackson states as they continue on their march by the time that he finishes they come to a cavern in the side of a sheer cliff Jackson walks into the dark and around a bend. Anderson follows suit and is greeted by a massive cavern about 200 meters long and 70 yards across. The entire area is lit and clearly is some form of command center/barracks a table towards the middle is covered with maps of the local area and there are countless bunks in the back. "Welcome to our humble abode. It may not look like much but this is just the front room the entire cave system that spreads across the entire mountain range we're only using a small fraction of the entire cave network."

"How have you managed this in such a short amount of time?"

"Come here I'll show you." Jackson leads him to a table with a map of the entire mountain range, with crisscrossing lines the more organized in blue and the more disorganized in green. "The green line are natural cave systems that have been fortified and expanded. The blue are man-made connections between them. The entire system was finished during The First Contact War, it was designed to be a place of last resistance in case the Turians ever attacked Earth."

"You said that you had prepared I guess it just didn't really sink in how well prepared you were." Anderson was pleased with a good base of operations they could plan an effective resistance maybe even keep the Reapers out of the mountains all together.

"Not as prepared as I'd like. We're well stocked on assault rifles, pistols, and thermal clips but severely lacking on heavy weapons, meds, and food. We should check and see if any of the other groups have checked in I have over a dozen teams out there securing everything from weapons to food to soldiers."

"What about coordinating with other members of the resistance? Do we have some form of communication available?"

"Yes and no. Back during the first contact war the Alliance buried communication cables all along this mountain range and fortified many of its caves. So we can communicate along this entire Rocky Mountain range but anything beyond that is going to take some time."  
"What about survivors? We need to find a place to house noncombatants."  
Jackson just laughed at that. "Against the Reapers anyone that can hold a rifle without falling over is a combatant. There are no survivors now, everyone is now a soldier like it or not."

"You can't mean that. What about the old? Children? Or injured?"

"I don't mean to sound cruel but the old are dead. The injured soon will be. As for the kids if they can hold a gun I'll take them as recruits."  
"You can't mean that?"  
"Look around! It doesn't matter who you are! If you want to survive you have to fight!"

"Sir we've got incoming and a lot of them."

1: Since the turn of the 22nd century almost everyone lived in the cities and the area immediately surrounding the cities was used as farmland to provide food for the ever growing population. Colonies had helped take the burden off of Earth but the population of Earth was still confined to the cities in order to make enough room for farms. More developed countries were also allowing for forests to grow to try and combat global warming.

2: Standard camouflage similar to what the armed forces use today except with thermal dissipation making it invisible to thermal imaging.


	2. Skirmish

Chapter 2: Skirmish

"_It is a good thing war is so terrible_

_Else we might grow to fond of it."  
_-General Robert E. Lee

Army of Northern Virginia

Battle of Fredericksburg, VA 1862

"What's incoming?" Anderson asked.

"Looks like shuttles but something's attacking them, fighters by the look of the LADAR scans. Should we engage the anti-air defenses?"

"No we might need them later." Jackson replies.

"You can't be serious! Those shuttles are loaded with innocents! Civilians! Our job is to protect them!" Anderson ordered.

"Sir with all due respect, we can get more people but we cannot replace our equipment."

"I said activate the canons. Blow those damn fighters out of the sky before we lose another shuttle. Jackson you saved me for one reason, to lead the resistance. Now let me lead."  
Jackson hesitated for a fraction of a second and then said calmly "Of course sir."

"We need a place for those shuttles to land. Any ideas?"

Jackson gestured for Anderson to follow him and heads for the freight elevator towards the back of the cave. "A few of the mountains were hollowed out to house fighter squadrons. But the cost was deemed too high to maintain, so the fighters were sold for scrap and the doors sealed shut but we had them unsealed and a shuttle should fit without a problem."

The elevator stops, but Jackson doesn't move to get off. Instead a Quarian joined them on the elevator and Jackson introduces him. "Anderson this is Veetor`Nara.1 Shepard helped him on Freedom's Progress and convinced him to come help us here on Earth. Mainly showing us how to grow food within these mountains and helping us with other tech."

"Nice to meet you Admiral."

"Good to have someone with technical skills. Shepard always said he would never have beaten Saren and the Collectors if it hadn't been for Tali`Zorah's help."

"Veetor we've got a ton of shuttles headed our way. We need to make sure they can all fit in the fighter bays."

"Not a problem Jackson. All the other outposts have been notified to engage the fighters and assist the refugees in any way possible."

"Other outposts? You never mentioned the other outposts Jackson. Just how many mountains are like this one?"

"About twenty-five, currently we only have fifteen manned, the other ten are on skeleton crews but will be ready within a week or two. Most of them clustered close to the major cities, The Alliance thought of everything when they built these things."

The elevator finally arrived at the hanger bay. What Anderson saw was similar to the design of the modern Carriers the alliance used. Two doors on either side of the hanger were open to the outside world. Above the mountain was lined with bays where it was possible for shuttles or fighters to park. Almost all stood empty, a few were already occupied by shuttles and refugees were already milling about seeking direction. Already it was apparent most of the people that escaped from Vancouver were civilians, for every soldier there were at least eight civilians.

"We need to get these people organized." Anderson stated. "Marines over here!" Over thirty marines in full combat armor ran over, along with a few dozen in dress blues, a couple of the civilians came over that were clearly veterans all of them saluted when they realized they were addressing an Admiral. "Alright marines let's get these civilians to safety. Jackson give me your radio and take the marines in combat gear and get any civilians that volunteer down to the barracks and get them some weapons. Veetor take the veterans and escort anyone injured down to the infirmary. I'll stay here and organize the others into temporary quarters here in the hanger. Keep an eye out for anyone that looks to be indoctrinated. Let's move people!"

Before anyone could move though Jackson steps toward one of the retired marines and asks "What is your name soldier."  
The ex-marine hesitates for a second then says "Joshia Adams, sir."

Jackson sighs whispers something in the man's ear and before anyone can react shoots him right between the eyes with his side arm.

Anderson quickly points his pistol at Jackson's head and everyone else does the same. "What is your problem soldier!"

Jackson calmly holsters his sidearm and takes the dog tags off the ex-marine revealing his chest in the process its almost completely covered in the unmistakable glow of reaper tech. "The eyes always give them away, no matter what the eyes always scream out against the Reaper's presence. I am sorry Joshia." He proceeds to say something in a language that Anderson's translator just does not understand.

Anderson lowers his gun nods to the other marines and says "Alright back to work. Jackson we will discuss this later"

Jackson just nods and proceeds to carry the body. "I will take him to the morgue, I have a bad feeling he won't be the last."

More shuttles kept pouring into the compound and for the next few hours Anderson, Jackson, and Veetor kept organizing those that came in. One thing that surprised Anderson was just how many people were willing to volunteer against the Reapers, several kids that couldn't have been ten years old tried to volunteer and Anderson repeatedly refused them. A man that was easily a hundred and twenty, with glasses thick enough to stop a bullet tried to volunteer but Anderson managed to convince him to stick to guard duty in the hanger. The entire time Jackson just waited in the corner occasionally shifting to a more comfortable position his eyes constantly scanning the crowd for anymore indoctrinated individuals luckily he never leaves from his position.

Eventually Anderson was interrupted by a burst of noise coming from his radio. "This is Admiral Anderson go ahead."  
"Admiral dis Max. We moved toward de edge of de forest and de refugees are literally flowing towards our mountains. What should we do with them?"

"Escort them to the caves. Sort them by injured, volunteers, and noncombatants. Move the injured to the infirmary, the volunteers to the barracks, and noncombatants to the hanger. Get some of the marines that have already arrived to help you. If we run out of room for non-coms or injured we can move them further into the caves, but keep the volunteers close to the surface we may need them. Any sign of Reaper ground forces?"

"No sir but its only matter otime now, dey know were here."

Anderson turned to Jackson. "Get the other squad leaders and meet me back at the cave entrance we've got company coming."

"This is a map of the cave entrance and surrounding area. Other than the trees there isn't much for cover, we can't hold it for a prolonged time." Jackson stated.

"What are you suggesting Jackson? That we just abandon the rest of the refugees to the reapers? It's not an option we need to save these people." Anderson stated. Anderson, Jackson, Max and six other squad leaders were surrounding the table along with two colonels that had arrived escorting refugees, so far they were the highest ranking military personnel besides Anderson to arrive at the cave system. It was amazing the differences between the three military men and Jackson's men. The two colonels and Anderson were in there dress uniforms but the uniforms were in varying states of disrepair and damage, while Jackson and his men wore light armor that wasn't damaged at all the dirt on the uniforms just served to add to their camouflage already painted into their armor. All of Jackson's also had several custom rifles and pistols on their persons while Anderson had only managed to find three standard M-8 Avenger assault rifles and Predator pistols for his men.

"I wasn't saying that, sir, but we do need a fallback plan. Luckily this entrance to the cave is up against a cliff so we don't have to be worrying about our rear unless they bring in air support. There's also the matter of communication, the two squads I sent to secure a QEC haven't reported in which means I have to send someone into Vancouver to recover the QEC and hopefully the other squads."

"Should we even risk it? If two of your squads couldn't handle it what makes you think one can?" Colonel Mason was a tall and imposing figure, his chest was covered in campaign ribbons, he had present during the Skillian Blitz and was the first man on the ground to help the forces on Elysium. Despite his appearance and experience as a military man, was actually well known for his technical prowess and general understanding of Quantum physics.

"I'm not taking one. I plan on taking all but Max and his squad with me, but it's your call sir I won't go into Vancouver without your consent."

Anderson just looked at Jackson trying to get read on him. This man had already saved his life and at least several thousand complete strangers, but he had also been willing to sacrifice a lot of lives for a few anti-air defense cannons and killed that man in cold blood. _'How many men would die just to get this one piece of technology'_ Anderson wondered. Out loud he said "Alright I'm authorizing this mission but Colonel Mason here has command, I understand you're not military but if you want to be a part of the resistance I expect you to follow our orders. If you perform well I'll even give your men ranks. Understood?"

Jackson seemed to think about this for a second before saluting. "Of course sir. Just don't be afraid to ask me or my men for help if you need it."

"Glad that's settled. Now what was this plan that Max had?"

Jackson nodded to Max who moved closer to the map and started drawing on the map in front of them, laying out defenses and mines that would help slow down the Reaper advance. "Dis just temporary though, eventually de will over-run us and we gonna have to close da cave somehow. Some explosives in da right place shoud do da trick."

"Understood, gather all the marines you need and get to work on these defenses, use civilians if you have to. From the reports we only have five or six hours until they get here, that will be around midnight we will be ready by then."

Eight hours later

Anderson woke with a start to a Quarian shaking him awake, for a brief instant he couldn't remember where he was then it all came rushing back. Climbing out of the cot Anderson asked "What time is it Veetor?"

"About three am local time. It's been eighteen hours since the first Reaper's landing. We've had contact from all the other outposts they're all about to be attacked just like us and have made similar preparations. Casualty reports are in the tens of thousands."

"Worldwide?" That number seemed a bit low to Anderson.

Veetor hesitated for a second "No, in Vancouver only. If this tally is correct for Vancouver we estimate over five million worldwide. Canada, Mexico, and the US have declared states of emergency and declared martial law we expect most other governments to follow suit."

Anderson just sighed. "Thank you Veetor I'll see you later."

"Of course Admiral if you need anything just let me know."

Quickly Anderson put on the light armor that Veetor had been kind enough to bring him. Unlike Jackson's armor this armor was alliance blue camo with several pockets and chest protection pads that could be swapped if damaged. There armor had a small shield generator that focused protection on the head and chest, a cap was provided that showed his rank so no one would question his authority. Picking up the rifle under his bed he quickly made sure it was working and found that it was an older model that didn't have a thermal clip, he would have to keep an eye on his overheating but he wouldn't have to worry about finding spare clips.

He walked outside and was amazed at the change. In just eight hours they had managed to clear a half-circle around the cliff face, the wood had then been piled into a hastily made palisade at head height about twenty-five feet out. Lights had been placed about fifty feet up the cliff face and several marines were putting the last few of the demolition charges around the cave entrance. Max saw Anderson and came running up to him "Admiral we almost ready for em. We buried mines rigged ta a detonator and can be blown whenever you say so. Scouts reported that de Reaper's are less dan half a mile from here."

"Glad to hear it. What about Colonel Mason are they in position?"

"Yea they're hidden about a mile south of here just waitin on a chance to slip past da Reapers."

"How many people do we have manning the palisade?"

"Da what?" Max asked, clearly his vocabulary was lacking.

"The wall."  
"Oh about two hundred wit another four hundred waiting to fill in de gaps."

"Good. I'm going to be on the wall as well, I've never really believed in leading from the rear."

"Wait! Jackson wanted ya to have dis."

Anderson took the object that Max handed him. It was about the size of a knife handle but it was long enough that both hands could grip it but small enough that one hand could use it. He gripped it a bit harder and a blade extended out of it about three feet long and double sided, it was the same color as the omni-blade Shepard had used earlier.

"It's an omni-sword. Kinda like an omni-blade but longer. Jackson created it a few months back, it'll come in handy if does bastards get close." Max explained.

"Thank you Max, make sure we get these to as many people as possible."

Max nodded and started handing out omni-swords to the surviving marine officers. Anderson moved up toward the center of the palisade and climbed up on top of it. What he saw already looked like a battlefield. Every tree in front of him had been cut down and the ground had been trampled by hundreds of people soon it would be littered with Reaper corpses. He watched as two men in camo came running out of the woods as soon as they saw the palisade they shouted "The Reapers are coming!"

A few seconds later the Reapers emerged from the woods. There were hundreds of them with no end in sight to their numbers. Anderson looked around and saw marines and civilians with looks of fear on their faces he turned around and faced them.

Anderson turned back around and opened fire taking out the leading Cannibal which was quickly followed by a husk before everyone else opened fire. Husks and Cannibals fell but were quickly replaced by more, no matter how much they fired the reapers made up to the side of the palisade luckily they made it no further as it was almost impossible for the defenders to miss at this range. Anderson took a second to survey the battlefield and saw something that scared the shit out of him, at the edge of the forest were five huge reapers, each one was about the size of a small hover car and was shaped like a bowling ball if these things made it to the wall they would reduce it to splinters.

Anderson waited until the creatures made it about halfway across the clearing before yelling into his radio "Max set off those charges NOW! Everyone else take cover."  
Over the radio Max replied "Charges in 3 2 1!"

Anderson ducked down as he felt a massive shockwave clearly those had been no simple mines. When he looked back up all that was left of the battlefield was a dozen massive craters, all that was left of the Reapers was a few limbs and blood everywhere. Clearly from the size of the craters those mines had been antitank mines and had left no trace of those brutish reapers. Unfortunately there was still no end in sight to the Reaper forces as yet more poured into the clearing luckily no more of those brutes turned up. For the next hour Anderson and the rest of the defenders held back the reaper forces but something was wrong the reapers were getting taller. Anderson realized that the Reapers were using the bodies of the dead Reapers to climb up the wall, pretty soon the Reapers started climbing over the walls.

Anderson got back on his radio "Fall back into the caves, Civilians first. Marines cover their retreat. Max let me know when all the civilians are back into the cave."

As the civilians headed back into the caves it became harder and harder for Anderson and the marines to hold back the Reapers. A few of the Reapers managed to cross the palisade unchallenged but were quickly killed by Max and his squad. Anderson looked back to check on the progress of the civilians, almost all of them had made it into the caves as Anderson reached to activate his radio three Cannibals suddenly jumped up next to him on the palisade. One of the knock Anderson's rifle away and he was forced to pull out his omni-sword, he quickly cut down the first Cannibal but by the time he had two husks had joined him on top of the wall. Quickly Anderson cut down one of the cannibals and a husk but yet more of Reapers were climbing onto the wall. A dozen shots killed the Reapers around Anderson and Max came in over the radio "Admiral get out of there."

Anderson looked around and saw that he was the only one remaining on the palisade, jumped down and started sprinting for the cave entrance killing anything that got in his way. As he passed Max and his squad he stopped just inside the cave entrance and yelled "Come on!"

But it was no good, if they fell back they would be overrun. Max just turned and smiled at Anderson and hit the detonator that would bring down the mountain on top of them. There was a tremendous explosion and Anderson ran back further into the cave as the entrance was filled with an entire mountain top worth of debris.

Veetor came up to him and asked "What's going on where is Max?"

Anderson merely looked back at the pile of rubble that was the cave entrance.

"I understand, come on let's see if we can see them on the security cams." Veetor said answering his own question.

Veetor led Anderson to the back of the cave where there was a small tech center was complete with close circuit cameras and communication equipment. After flicking through a few camera's they saw what they were looking for Max and his squad fighting countless Reapers and actually winning. For the next half hour they stood there and watched as one by one the squad fell until only Max remained. Anderson watched as Max was hit in the back by a husk and fell to the ground, he lost sight as Reapers swarmed over Max. Max's voice came over the radio clearly in a lot of pain and suffering from exhaustion "It was and honor Admiral."  
As the radio went dead a huge explosion rocked the cave and the feed on the camera showed what looked like half of the mountain falling down onto the battlefield and further burying the cave's entrance and what was left of Max and his squad before the feed went dead.

1: Veetor'Nara was not mentioned in ME3 so I just wrote him in here, other characters from the previous ME games will be added later.


	3. Ghosts

Chapter 3: Ghosts

"_Stealth makes it possible for 12 men_

_To take on an army and win."_

-Unknown

Earlier…

Jackson, Mason and the other commanders of the strike teams were standing around the conference table in the entrance to the cave system. Max and Anderson had gone to organize the defense of the cave.

"Okay here's the plan. We each break up into individual squads, Mason your with me and my squad. About a mile south of here is a small valley that is covered with dense foliage and will provide an excellent place to hide. Once the Reaper's have engaged the defenders at the cave entrance we make our way as quietly as possible to these point along the forests. Each team will take a different route, once we arrive we can access Old Vancouver's drainage systems.1 From there it's a straight shot to the harbor district." Jackson explained.

"How recent are these maps? Those tunnels haven't been maintained in decades. What if we run into a collapse or even worse Reapers?" Colonel Mason asked.

"Most of these maps were made in the last three months, there were plans to fill them to prevent the farmland above from collapsing. As for the Reapers if we try to cross the farmlands of foot we will have to fight our way, at least we have a chance at stealth this way."  
"It's a good plan Jackson. The QEC is locate here in the shipyard's storage bunkers about a mile from where you say we will come out of. We also have reports of surviving marines and civilians here, here, and here." The colonel circled four points on the map. "Once we secure the QEC the surviving teams will split up and try to make it to the survivors. Remember the survivors are a secondary objective until the QEC is secured and on its way back to base, when it is we need to save as many people as possible. Understood?" Everyone at the table nodded. "Now what are our extraction options?"  
"Whichever team secures the QEC first will attempt to extract the same way we came in through the tunnels and into the forest. Everyone else will depend on just how many survivors we find. If it turns out to be a few hundred we'll try to make it across the farmland, but if we do that there will be a lot of casualties. The crops have been trampled making that whole area one big no-man's land."

"Remember people we go in quiet and only make noise if we have too. Gear up you've got a half hour until we head for the valley."  
Mason and Jackson made their way to one of the caves many offshoots to an area that had been turned into a special armory. The weapons here were a combination of modern and gunpowder weapons, Avenger assault rifles were next to M16s plus half a dozen mods for each weapon. Mason made sure everyone had at least one silenced weapon with them, for himself he took a Vindicator assault rifle with a silencer, and an Eviscerator shotgun with a blade and extra mags. Jackson took an old fashioned silenced M16 with a master-key and silencer, and he pulled a N7 Valiant rifle out of a box and proceeded to attach a silencer to that as well as an enhanced scope.

Both men silently put on their light armor, brown camo with a similar design to Anderson's but much stronger shields that covered the entire body. Once ready they made their way back to the entrance and waited for the rest of the men to arrive within the half hour they were all ready.

"Ok Mason, time to meet the squad." Jackson said. "We've got John" he pointed to a tall langy man with brown curly hair. "He's our close quarters expert. Then you've got Axe he's our tech man." He now pointed at a shorter nimbler man with a small frame and even smaller fingers. "Finally we've got Larry, our heavy weapons and explosives expert." He pointed to the last man a real giant with close cut black hair.

Each one nodded in greeting and then returned to checking their equipment. "Good to meet you, let's move out." No one made a sound as they got marched through forest and into the narrow valley, there the teams spread out and got comfortable, it would be a long time until the Reapers arrived. Mason heard Jackson reporting to base that they were in position and ready to carry out the mission. The teams took turns on watch but nothing came within a hundred yards of them on motion sensors after a while it was Jackson and Mason's turn. Jackson sat there cleaning his M16 even though it hadn't been fired and no dirt appeared on his rag he proceeded to clean it again.

"Why use a gun that old? The Avenger is more efficient, doesn't jam, and is quieter." Mason asked.

"All of that's true but this gun is special." He took a round off the top of a magazine and threw it to Mason. Upon closer inspection the round appeared to be glass not metal like Mason expected on a round this old. "These rounds are mostly a special kind of glass but in the middle is a handful of antimatter atoms, extremely expensive I only have two clips with me like it. Upon impact they combine with regular matter and instead of blowing a few millimeters out of a target they leave a twenty centimeter hole in whatever they hit. Plus most modern armor and shields are designed to dissipate thermal rounds not old fashioned bullets so they pass right through them. On the Reapers I'm willing to try anything."

"If it works put me down for one, I'll do anything to beat these bastards." Mason sighed and got a distant look in his eyes. "Thank god my wife and kids are on the Citadel. I couldn't imagine them being here I feel bad enough seeing all the refugees back at the cave, like I can't do enough to help them."

Jackson just laughed "You marines never change do you. No matter what civilians are always completely helpless and in need of protection." Jackson laughed even more. "Civilians will surprise you, it's true some are helpless and need to be protected but most will gladly stand up to invaders be they Reapers or anyone else and fight to the death for their way of life."

The colonel was about to respond but just then the unmistakable sound of muffled gunfire came from the north. So he said "Sounds like it's time to move, go wake the others."

Mason announced over the radio "All teams we have a go. Head for your respective entry points, maintain radio silence when possible." Rather than respond five blue lights blinked on in his HUD signaling they got the message. Mason and the rest of the team put on black ski masks, as long as they were in the woods it was almost impossible to spot them in the dark. Jackson took point and lead the way out of the mountains, after just ten minutes he signaled a halt and pointed to the ground. "A lot of Reapers came through here, stay sharp."

They continued on their way, all of them keeping a sharp lookout for the telltale glow of Reaper husks and cannibals. As they approached the rise that marked the last hill before the farmlands they heard a massive explosion from the northeast. All of them quickly pointed their weapons towards the source but lowered them when they realized it came from the cave, the night quickly went back to almost dead silent. As they reached the rise of the hill Jackson signaled to stop again and pointed toward something about fifty yards away, upon a closer look Mason saw that it was two Cannibals feeding off what looked like the remains of some civilians. Jackson quickly signaled his men to take them out and aimed his weapon, a second later five shots rang out hitting both of the Cannibals and dropping them dead before they even realized they were under attack. The gunshots were barely louder than a cough but all five men in the squad didn't lower their weapons until a full minute after they were fired. Jackson quickly stepped forward, pulled a silenced pistol and put a round through each of the Cannibals heads.

After checking the civilians for a pulse he put a round in each of their heads as well, Mason was horrified. "What do you think you're doing?" he said in a barely audible whisper.

"I don't know much about the Reapers but I hope this keeps them from turning into Husks."  
Before he could respond a second explosion could be heard this one a lot smaller than the one they had heard earlier. "Those were the charges for the cave entrance, we need to go before the Reapers get bored and start looking around." Rather than risking an argument Mason just nodded and they proceeded down the hill.

They had to stop two more times once to allow a group of Husks to pass by and again to take down three Cannibals that were sniffing around for fresh meat. Just as they got to the entry point they heard a third explosion, this one was clearly larger than all the others. Jackson once again broke the silence "That one was to cause a rockslide, but why did they wait so long to detonate it?" There was a pause and he answered his own question "Never mind not really important I guess. Here is the entrance." He pulled open an old fashion manhole cover, dropped in a flare, and climbed down. Mason followed and arrive at what appeared to be an small concrete tunnel. The area they were in now was big enough to stand but the tunnels themselves were only four feet tall and barely wide enough for one man to walk down.

"I don't like this." Mason said "It's too small and tight down here if we run into trouble it will be difficult to retreat."

"It's the best option we have let's just get a move on."

Mason checked a map and proceeded down the tunnel that was headed towards the west. It was horrible and slow going every intersection Jackson would mark where they came from. The drainage system may not be in use anymore but there was still water in it and at one point axe was up to his neck in water. At one point Mason swore he heard distant gunfire, "Squads report in." Silence was all the response he got, "Anybody report in." Still there was no response.

"It's possible the sewers are blocking the radio signals." Jackson suggested.

"I hope your right." Mason said and they continued on their way. They spent another hour in that hellhole before they finally came to a metal grate that separated them from the harbor. One of Jackson's men pulled out a mobile torch and began to cut through the metal, within ten minutes they were through and moving. Quickly surveying the ground around them they saw an abandoned warehouse, Mason signaled for them to move towards it. Once they were inside they swept the immediate area and found it clear in fact it looked like no one had been here in a long time.

"John. Larry. Move out and secure the warehouse. Axe see if there is any electronic surveillance we can use. Jackson get on the radio see if you can raise the other teams." Mason ordered. Instead of responding they all moved out to cover their assigned tasks. Mason moved up to the second level walkways where the windows were pulled out his map and started familiarizing himself with the terrain. Outside the windows it looked like hell had come to Vancouver, most of the skyscrapers had been damaged, those that hadn't were on fire. Hover cars were wrecked all over the place and the remains of several starships were scattered here and there. Occasionally gunfire could be heard coming from the streets but for the most part the city was dead quite.

"Looks bad doesn't it?" Jackson asked

"It will get better though it has to." Mason said more to reassure himself than anything. "What's the status on the teams?"  
"Teams one, two, and five are reporting ready. Teams three and four are still not responding but that's not surprising they had the longest route underground. Sunrise is a little over two hours away do we move now or wait till we hear from three and four?"

"We'll give them half an hour. Then we move out with or without them."

"Yes, sir." Jackson replied saluting and moved back down to the first level. After informing the other teams over the radio the team sat down and went about their own pre-combat rituals. Axe typed away on his omnitool doing god knows what, John and Jackson proceeded to clean their weapons yet again while Larry proceeded to make what looked like a rather large bomb. Jackson just continued to look out the windows and watched as Vancouver burned occasionally a Cannibal or a Husk would walk by but he saw no civilians or marines which didn't bode well for finding survivors.

After twenty minutes Jackson's radio went off and he answered it, after a brief conversation he came up to Mason and reported in "That was team three they are in position and waiting for the order. I don't think we're going to hear from team four they are supposed to wait until they hear fighting to come out right in the bunker."

"Then let's go." Mason replied. "Everyone up and at 'em we roll in five!"

There was a sudden flurry of activity as everyone in the room quickly gathered all their gear, made final checks on their guns and ammunition, and checked comms. Mason moved toward the doors and waited until Mason signaled the all clear. They moved quickly and quietly from their temporary haven and headed along the coast to the shipyards, at a bend in the harbor they stopped and waited for Jackson to ID the building. After just a few seconds a small and unassuming warehouse was highlighted on their HUDs without pausing for discussion the teams moved out and made their way toward the building.

Axe was the first to spot any reapers "Two cannibals at eleven o'clock." Five silenced shots quickly coughed out and the Cannibals dropped to the ground, moving quickly Axe and Jackson pulled the two into a nearby open shipping container and continued on their way. After another two minutes of silent movement Mason ordered a halt. "This is too easy."

"Never look a gift horse in the mouth." Was Jackson's only reply.

"The Reapers knew exactly how and where to hit us to make earth fall, why would they allow us such an asset without putting up a fight?" Mason asked.

Suddenly the radio went off "This is team three we found team four in the warehouse they're wired with explosives."  
"Damn! Team three get those explosives off team four and get out of there, Teams one, two, and five fall back it's a trap." Jackson yelled.  
"Too late." Was the only reply gunfire erupted somewhere off toward the North.

"We're going to get overrun if we stay here, Teams one and two link up with team five, try to find someplace defensible we're coming to you." Mason answered. "Team three hurry up we'll buy you as much time as possible."

1: Basically all the old suburbs were cleared out to make room for farm land but the underground was left relatively intact.


	4. Going Loud

Chapter 4: Going Loud

"_When in doubt C-4"_

_-_Mythbusters

Something was wrong. Not that the entire planet being invaded by huge 2km tall aliens wasn't wrong but something closer to do with the place he was in. Anderson just couldn't put his finger on it though, no matter how hard he focused. It almost seemed as if the problem was purposefully evading his attempts to figure it out slipping from the periphery of his consciousness to be lost in the chaos of his subconscious. He would figure it out though he always figured it out in the end, that's how he became the man he is today.

Gunfire was everywhere, all of the squads were regrouped in the wreckage of an alliance warship that had crashed in the shipyard. Unfortunately they were surrounded cut off from teams three and four, from what Mason had seen there was no end in sight of the Reapers. It seemed as if every Reaper in the city was here attacking his team, fortunately it seemed there were only husks and cannibals easily dispatched but their ammo was finite, it was just a matter of time until it ran out.

"Jackson!" Mason roared over the gunfire. "Take your squad to higher ground let us know where they are weakest. We have to fight our way out of here."

"No need for a squad sir. I'll use my cloak." Jackson replied as he shimmered and disappeared from view.

Not a minute later Jackson reported in "I've got good news and bad news sir. The bad news is we're completely surrounded no way out at least thousand maybe more. The good news is I found the ship's communication array I'm going to try to use it to request support from any marines still in Vancouver."  
"Do it! See if Anderson can spare some air support while you're at it."

Suddenly there was a blast of static across the radio and Jackson's voice "Attention any remaining Alliance forces in the Vancouver area. This is Fire Team Alpha on a priority mission in need of immediate and all assistance possible. We are pinned in the shipyard under heavy fire from Reaper forces, coordinates to follow."

After the coordinates the message immediately repeated suggesting it had been put on a loop. Mason was maintaining fire on the Reapers put they continued to slowly gain ground, every few seconds Reapers would fall for no apparent reason except for a sudden expulsion of brain matter suggesting that Jackson had taken up a sniping position on top of the ship. Then the first bad news came in from Larry "Out of thermal clips anyone got spares?"

Taking a quick count Mason realized he was down to just three which would amount to 60 shots, the other members reported similarly low numbers. "Everyone fall back into the wreckage try to funnel them in. Jackson get down here and switch to your M16 and pass out your thermals."

As they backed into the wreckage they took their time with their shots making each and every one count aiming for the head as much as possible. Jackson's antimatter rounds made quick work of every enemy almost always one shot one kill. Even the normal FMJ rounds fired by everyone else were very effective completely bypassing any shields present on the enemies. Time ticked by agonizingly slow each second seemed like a week. Inevitably the fire became less and less effective as everyone switched to their pistols. Suddenly a booming noise, Mason instantly recognized it as a Mako battle tank's main cannon, could be heard outside the ship and the Reapers slowly stopped coming in all eventually only a dozen are so remained and were quickly dispatched by, slowly the team made their way back outside the craft and saw a most welcome sight.

Waiting for them was eight Mako battle tanks and an entire platoon of armored marines, everyone in the group except for Jackson lowered their weapons. Mason glared at him "Stand down Jackson, that's an order."

"Not until I see their eyes sir. You can always tell if they're indoctrinated by their eyes."

"I said stand down!"

Slowly Jackson lowered his gun but kept it in his hand instead of holstering it like the rest of the squad.

"Who's in command here?" Mason asked.

A hatch opened up and a man swung out of the tank, instantly Jackson's gun was up and pointed at the man.

"I said STAND DOWN!" Mason roared.

The rescue squad had also raised their guns all of them pointed at Jackson. Jackson's men had also raised their guns but lowered them when Mason told them to. Everyone was on edge, the man that had come out of the tank looked unconcerned and approached Jackson with an air of superiority.

"Well, well, well. It must be Christmas morning and nobody told me. Good to see you again subject 117, it has been far too long"

"Not long enough, see the bullet to the knee didn't slow you down any."

"Modern medicine is amazing isn't it."  
"Just what the hell is going on here? How do you too know each other?" Mason asked.

"Sorry sir. This is Colonel Charles Whitcomb." Jackson replied.

"It's actually Major General now, and you are going right back to the lab where you belong."

"No way in hell. I'd die before I go back there again."

"That works for me, an autopsy would provide the same results as having you alive."  
"ENOUGH!" Mason was rapidly tiring of these two "We can discuss this later right now we need to get the QEC and get back to base. Kill each other later."

Jackson slowly lowered his gun "I'm not going anywhere until the Reapers are dead, after they're gone we can settle this like men."  
"Works for me. Mason you have tactical command since you know where we're going. We rounded up what's left of Vancouver's military assets and a few civilians, unfortunately the Reapers rounded up most of the civilians and moved them to camps around a Sovereign class Reaper. There's nothing we can do for them it's time to bug out, Vancouver is lost."

"Of course sir. Let me get on the horn with team three and see if they secured the QEC and saved team four. Are you to going to be okay until I get that done?" Mason said the last part directed solely at Jackson.

"Sure, unless all the Reaper's just disappear." Jackson answered his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Satisfied that the two weren't going to shoot each other Mason moved off and started to contact team 3, while Mason and Whitcomb moved off toward their respective teams. Both teams were sizing each other up, making plans, finding the closest cover, just waiting for a fight to break out.

Slowly but surely the teams relaxed around each other and formed a perimeter around the crashed ship and passed out ammo to those who needed it but Jackson and Whitcomb maintained their distance from each other. It was tense but the two could work together. Eventually the whine of shuttle engines could be heard coming in low and fast, a little too late to provide support but at least they wouldn't have to hoof it home.

"Okay everyone listen up! Teams three and four have secured the QEC and are going to extract on a shuttle. Load up the shuttles with as many people as possible they will take you back to base make sure to cover the primary objective. Jackson, Whitcomb, and I are going to take the tanks and any other vehicles across no man's land. The shuttles need to stay low and fast as possible, there will be no fighter support for them understand." The shuttle pilots nodded and started to load the few civilians and wounded, while everyone else loaded into the vehicles.

Despite the fact that the Reapers now owned Vancouver there was very little resistance to their withdrawal from the city. They ran into a few packs of Cannibals and Husks no more than a hundred strong that were quickly dispatched by the tanks and jeeps combined fire. "Charles what's going on? When I left Vancouver yesterday morning there were at least a dozen Reaper ships all around the city. Where did they go?" Jackson inquired with complete disregard for rank and common courtesy.

"So now you wanna talk? What happened to putting a bullet between my eyes huh?" Whitcomb replied sarcastically.

"Don't tempt me." Jackson answered with his hand on his pistol. "We have to work together for now might as well get used to it."  
It was a hollow threat and they all knew it inside of the tank a round would likely travel through the target and ricochet around killing all of them.

"No idea. After they rounded up the bulk of the civilians they flew off apparently they took most of their ground forces with'em. Some clearly headed off world but most along lower flight paths. My guess is onto other cities." Whitcomb said with a hint of sadness "Never even got the chance to blow'em up proper. All that's left is the internment camps and a few big Reapers."

"Damn. They're moving faster than I thought possible, I figured they would be here at least a week." Jackson got lost in thought for a minute. "If we destroyed the few remaining Reaper's you think they would send reinforcements?"

Mason and Whitcomb looked at him like he had lost his mind. Mason was the first to recover "The biggest ships in the Alliance fleet could barely even scratch the bigger Reapers and you think we can do better with a few hundred marines?"

"You remember those antimatter rounds I showed you?" Mason nodded "Well there is more where that came from a lot more. I estimate three to four tons of it in storage under the base. If we could-"

Whitcomb interrupted him. "Hold your horses there. You're telling me that my new HQ is on top of an antimatter storage facility? You really are bat shit crazy."

"It's not on top of one, it is one. It was originally built to manufacture and store antimatter, they finally ceased production after making some treaty with the council but the stockpile remains. Also it's not your HQ it's mine I'm just _loaning_ it to you understand."

"Whatever don't get your panties in a twist. You know maybe I can do the autopsy in your own HQ, how's that for some irony."

This time Jackson did pull his pistol, Mason quickly grabbed it from his hand. "I'm tired of this, I feel like a fucking babysitter. General what did you mean whey you said that Jackson belongs in a lab?"

"I meant just that. This thing is United States Marine Corps property and since the USMC was absorbed by the Alliance that means he is now Alliance property."  
"The USMC was folded into the Alliance in 2150 that would make him at least 50 years old, he barely looks half that if you ask me."

"That's why we want him in a lab, his actual age is unknown but the according to his USMC records he was born just before the turn of the 22nd century, however we have reason to believe these records are falsified. He has sustained a whole host of injuries during his tours of duty, most of them minor, but the most notable injury was in 2123 when his tank detonated a massive IED everyone was killed except for him and he was out of the hospital barely two days later. The scary part is he was right above where the mine went off."

"Yea after that the Marine Corps asked if they could perform some tests to see why I healed so fast. I refused, they were not happy about it. I had to kill eight MPs to escape, spent the next couple decades on the run. When the Alliance was founded I joined them under a false name, unfortunately when the USMC joined the Alliance someone who knew the old me found out and sent this stupid cocky Captain and his platoon after me wound up killing the whole platoon and left the captain alive with a warning."

"Didn't work, I got promoted and was tasked with tracking him down. Never had any luck until today, all this time he was right under my nose."

"Shepard worked with Whitcomb for a few years before Elysium. Shepard once tracked me down and we actually had a nice conversation, he's a good man. Understood when I told him my side of the story knew I just wanted to help humanity, offered me some intel on some nasty crime lords in Mexico I hunted them down in exchange for Shepard feeding Whitcomb false information. After Cerberus rebuilt him he contacted me again for help against the Collectors, I had to refuse for… personal reasons."

Sensing there was more to the story Mason mentally noted to ask more later. Whitcomb decided at this point to interrupt Mason's thoughts "So that's how you did it. Fucking Shepard was the one hiding you all these years. Should've known that guy really is too good for humanity."

"Well for two enemies, you seem to be getting along just fine." Mason replied.

"We used to be friends, if you can believe that. Same rank and battalion before this shit storm started." Jackson answered "Only reason I spared his life when he first came after me."  
"I still hate your guts for killing my platoon." Whitcomb answered.

Jackson just nodded and got a sad look in his eyes when the driver interrupted. "Sirs, were approaching no-man's land I suggest you strap in I'm going to punch it."

Everyone except Jackson strapped in, while Jackson elected to hold on to the suicide handle. They spent the next ten minutes, red lining the Mako's engines hitting nearly 120kph1 they bounced around on every little bump in the dirt. Finally they arrived in the woods were shuttles were waiting to airlift the Mako to the HQ. Anderson was waiting beside the shuttles fully decked out in full combat gear with a squad of marines, he did not look happy.

1: About 70mph

**AN: **I got to work all weekend but I updated all the chapters and new content will be upload next week. Feel free to R&R.


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